with Elder Jared Johnson

with Elder Tanner Johnson

with Elder Christensen

with Elder Proctor

with Elder Runnells

with Elder Murvai

Monday, September 20, 2010

Hey guys. Well this week was a little rough, but I'm glad that it's over.I'm tired mostly from so much finding, but also from translating for like and hour and a half yesterday. It is a lot harder that I thought it would be. You try to tell the people you are translating to what was said and you've already missed a lot of the next few sentences. It wipes you out like crazy.

I remember the (York, Pa) Fair ok. Mostly from when I was there with you (September, 2008). I remeber that pig-racer guy being pretty weird and then the pigs racing around.

I hope that you feel better. I'm sorry that I don't have much to say, nothing really happened this week.

I cant believe that Zac is getting married, as well. Is it that girl that he baptized before his mission that waited for him or is a different girl? I know that they had something before he left. Where did he serve? I don't remember.

I hope that Jeremy's package gets there and that he enjoys it. I put some things in there for Adam and Austin, as well.

Well to start off I have a little story of basically all that really happened this week aside from the training...

Well this week was kinda hard for a few reasons. We were in Budapest for 3 days like I said, and so the work suffered around here. But then when we met with that guy that I told you about a while ago, the one that just walked into the branch house and wanted to meet with us, he was the guy I have had the most hopes for when it comes to maybe seeing a future in baptism in such a short time. Well, we met with him on Saturday and he told us that the Bible says we shouldn't add or subtract from the book and that he will never accept the Book of Mormon and so it was also way hard cause he brought up that we are wrong and he feels bad for us cause we are going in the wrong direction. He only wants to follow Jesus and His teachings and if the Bible says that we shouldn't have more books then we are not following Him. I had no idea what to do, so I prayed inside while Elder Johnson was talking on what to say, because I didn't want to argue with him or make him feel bad. He is a really good guy and has good intentions, I just was heart-broken in a sense to have him tell us that the Holy Ghost told him that we are going in the wrong direction. He told me to put down the Book of Mormon for 3 months and only read from the Bible and then I will see what he is talking about. I responded by telling him that I'll do that if he would put down the Bible for those 3 months and he will only read from the Book of Mormon (BOM). He wouldn't take it so I didn't either. I thought it was pretty funny and so did Elder Johnson. He was kinda laughing from it. But going back to the "what would I say to this" part, all Elder Johnson and I could think of was to tell him where we stand and that the Holy Ghost has told us that what is in this book is true. I did wonder why that part was in Revelations if God and Jesus themselves would appear to Joseph and have him translate more scripture, so I looked into it more.

When I read it, I went from cross-reference to cross-reference and saw that in the BOM in 3 Nephi 11 (the chapter that we gave him and he said that he read) it says the same thing-- "Don't take or add". But looking at the words that are used, he read it wrong, along with many other people who use that excuse for not accepting the BOM. The scripture in Revelations says not to add or subtract from the prophecies that the book contains. 3 nephi 11:40 says that as well, that we should not expand or diminish from the prophecy, or in other words, the "word" or in simple terms not to add or subtract from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to build our faith on its teachings. Upon the rock. So that we can be safe from the gates of Hell. It says to not change the doctrine, basically not to add or take away from the teachings of the Bible. It was really fun to do all that stuff and just be amazed that everything we teach is within the guidlines of the gospel of Jesus Christ and so we are in a very great position. When he asked me how happy Jesus would be with me for reading out of the BOM, I told him that He would be very happy with me.I then briefly shared this experience in Fast and Testimony meeting yesterday and was able to tell the whole congregation to never doubt anything and to ask God for answers, and then can possibly come from a passage of scripture. I know that to be true from this experience. It was just so cool to wonder and honestly question why things like that would happen, and then to find out that we are on the right path.

Oh, I wish that I could sit there and watch tennis with you (The U.S. Open). That is one of the only sports that I'm not too good at that I just love to watch. I really do miss Agassi and Sampras. And I'm with you--I dont really like Rodger Federer, but love Nadal. I'm not a Roddick fan either. I forget his name but I saw a new tennis player, or at least one that I'm not too familiar with, while I was in the store. His name was Aaron or something like that from Australia. He has an amazing serve. One of the best that I have seen.

How are all my bros doing? I hope that Jay has a great B day.

The training wasn't much new. Well, it was and it wasn't. I thought that they had a new process or something, but it was just a lot of training on how to be a better and more effective teacher. I think that I did learn things, though, because as people we kind of get into routines and get comfortable in that place, then because of that we don't really help our investigators the best because we teach them the same way that we taught the last guy.

I love you guys and miss you a lot.Enjoy the pics.Enjoy tennis too. Update me on stuff that's cool from it.